This may belong over in the 'Have you read it' Forum, but I found it so extremely pertinent to this issue - so called "Teen Help" programs - that I wanted it posted here.
Anyone with any interest in how many of these programs "work", get yourself a copy of "Cults in Our Midst", by Margaret Singer.
I have found that in every chapter there are paragraphs I wanted to quote here - descriptions of "The Program" abound - though not by name. I feel the same would certainly be true of many other programs and how they operate. I know what is reported to have occurred in the Whitmore Mansion, for example, would fit very in well with many of the author's case study accounts of cult victims.
I just finished chapter 8. I felt I couldn't wait to finish the book to make the suggestion it be read. Chapter 8 deals with something all WWASPS persons are very familiar with - the seminars. The author gives a accounting of them - what they are, and how they "work", and the harm they can do. There is no question what is discribed is exactly what the WWASPS seminars are.
If you are a WWASP program parent; or a WWASP grad or drop out - reading this chapter could go a long way to helping you understand what exactly it is you were (or are) involved with.
If you are considering a teen help program of any kind, I would go so far as to say this book is must reading.
In fact, If you are anyone who is sensitive and idealistic - perhaps a little stressed and or depressed - and prone to respond to a friendly overtures on the part of another human being (and who isn't?) you should read this book. Because the best defense is a good offence. If you know the tactics of those who would deceive you - manipulate you - and enslave you - you can better recognize it when it happens.
